Ford

Henry Ford developed his first gasoline powered horseless carriage in 1896 while he was working for Edison at the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit, Michigan. His invention was called the Quadricycle and it was built in a shed behind his home. Another garage inventor, he went on to establish the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and five years later he rolled out the first Model T automobile. The “Tin Lizzie” as the Model T was known, was in such high demand, Ford had to introduce a revolutionary new mass production method that included large production facilities, the use of standardized interchangeable parts and in 1913, the worlds first moving assembly line. These techniques of mass production revolutionized the American car industry and eventually enabled the company to produce one Model T every 24 seconds. By 1918 half the cars in America were Model Ts. The other innovative thing that Ford did was to create a massive production facility along the river Rouge in Dearborn which produced all of the materials needed to build his cars. The next vehicle produced by Ford was the Model A which is probably the most iconic base of sought after hot rods known today.

So, for over 100 years Ford has been producing vehicles for the mass public. There have been a lot of successes but there has also been a fair share of not so popular vehicles along the way. Cars such as the Edsel, Pinto and Capri come to mind but some of the more iconic vehicles such as the Mustang and Thunderbird were revolutionary when they were first introduced but over time they morphed into bloated ”American” luxury boats just like all of the US car manufacturers did until the Japanese wake up call in the late 70’s and early 80’s that changed the car industry forever.

You may not remember, but there were a lot of catchy phrases associated with the Ford moniker; such as Found On Road Dead or even better Fix Or Repair Daily and in the era before the US Automobile companies saw the light, these were pretty accurate representations of not just Ford but all American car companies. The quality was not there but fast forward to 2018 and we see that not only Ford but all car companies around the world have made Quality the highest priority and it definitely shows. If you take a look at the 2018 models offered by Ford, they are not only high quality but can compete with car manufactures around the world. Just take the Mustang for example, need we say more?

Fun Fact:
In 1964, after Ford debuted the Mustang, 94,000 pedal-powered toy mustangs were bought for children the following Christmas season.
Ford states that the “best never rest” and “quality is job one” but how does it stack up to the competition, let’s take a look:

Specifications

2018 Ford Mustang

2018 BMW M2

2018 Chevrolet Camaro

2018Dodge Challenger

Winner

City MPG

21 mpq

18 mpq

20 mpq

19 mpq

Mustang

Highway MPG

31 mpq

26 mod

30 mpq

30 mpq

Mustang

EPA Classification

Subcompact

Subcompact

Compact

Mid-Size

Passenger Volume (ft3)

84.5

89.7

TBD

93.9

Challenger

Rear Head Room (in)

34.8

36.5

38.5

37.1

Camaro

FrontLeg Room (in)

44.5

41.5

43.9

42

Mustang

Passenger Capacity

4

4

4

5

Front He ad Room (in)

37.6

40.1

-TBD-

39.3

BMW

Length, Overall (in)

188.3

176.2

188.3

197.9

Challenger

Height, Overall (in)

54.4

55.5

53.1

57.5

Challenger

Wheelbase (in)

107.1

106

110.7

116.2

Challenger

Width, Max w/o mirrors (in)

75.4

73

74.7

75.7

Challenger

Trunk Volume (ft3)

13.5

13.8

9.1

16.2

Challenger

Brake ABS System

4-Wheel

4-Wheel

4-Wheel

4-Wheel

Disc - Rear (Yes or No )

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Disc - Front (Yes or No )

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Fuel Tank Capacity, Approx (gal)

15.5

13.7

-TBD-

18.5

Challenger

TurningDiameter - Curb to Curb (ft)

36.5

38.4

-TBD-

37.4

Mustang

SteeringType

Rack-Pinion

Rack-Pinion

Pwr

Rack-Pinion

Rear Tire Size

P235/55WR17

P265/35YR19

P 245/50 R18

P235/55HR18

FrontTire Size

P235/55WR17

P245/35YR19

P 245/50 R18

P235/55HR18

Base Curb Weight(lbs)

3532

3450

3354

3894

Camaro

Front Wheel Size (in)

17 X 7.5

19X9

18 x- TBD -

18 X 7.5

Rear Wheel Size (in)

17 X 7.5

19X10

18 x- TBD -

18 X 7.5

SAE Net Torque @ RPM

350(2)3000

343(2)1400

275(2)5600

268 (2)4800

Mustang

Displacement

2.3 L/140

3.0 L/182

2.0L/122

3.6 L/220

Challenger

SAE Net Horsepower @ RPM

310(2)5500

365(2)6500

275(2)5600

305(2)6350

BMW

Engine Type

Intercooled Turbo Premium

Intercooled Turbo Premium

Gas I4

Regular Unleaded V-6

Fuel System

Gasoline Direct Injection

Gasoline Direct Injection

Direct Injection

Sequential MPI

Drive train

Rear Wheel

Rear Wheel

Rear Wheel Drive

Rear Wheel Drive

T ransmission

Manual w/OD

Manual w/OD

Manual

Automatic w/OD

Body Style

Fastback

Coupe

Coupe

Coupe

Suspension Type - Rear

Multi-Link

Multi-Link

MacPherson Strut

Multi-Link

Suspension Type - Front

Strut

Strut

Multi-Link

Short And Long Arm

T ons/yr of CO 2 Emissions @ 15K mi/year

7.1 flEsf)

8.4

7.7

7.6

Mustang

As you can see from the table that the Ford Mustang is not the leader in every category but it leads the pack where it counts. If you measure your vehicles based on overall quality, attention to detail, workmanship, safety and dependability, then you cannot do better than the Ford Mustang built by the Ford Motor Company.